The cost depends on a lot more that what classes you take...it also depends on where you buy your books, whether you can sell them after the semester to recoup some of the cost, and even the type of university/college you attend.
Assuming you bought your new books at the campus bookstore, a safe estimate would be $ 125 to $200 per class. Thus, if you took four classes in the summer, you'd need $500 to $800 for books...in a regular academic year, assuming you took five classes each semester (the average "full-time" load) for two semesters each year, you'd need $1,250 to $2,000 for books!
If you bought used books and/or purchased from alternative sources (e.g., online), you might be able to save about 30%.
Now, if you were VERY lucky, you might be able to sell those books back to the bookstore for half what you paid for them...but I think 20-30% is much more typical.
Interestingly, my department just went through the textbook selection process for a class required for all business majors...junior level. Price was one of our considerations. The typical "traditional" book was about $180 new plus an additional charge for any supplements (e.g., access codes for online supplements required for online classes)...the total cost for most options was about $200. Some publishers offered "light" versions of the books...paperback with more consolodated coverage of the topics...these options were about $150 with supplements. The book we selected was something completely new that some publishers are trying...a "magazine-format" book that eliminates irrelevant graphics and all the supplemental material (e.g., end of chapter review questions, glossary, cases) and places it online. These books have little or no resale value because of the temporary code required to access the supplements and because of pull-out content (e.g., study/review cards)...however, the price is generally about $50 ($54.95 for the one we selected).
Unfortunately, such options aren't yet available for all disciplines AND even if they were, some professors don't like change and prefer to stick with full-version textbooks. However, if you attend a school that's more "student-oriented" than the typical research university or one that has a financially-disadvantaged population, you're more likely to find these type of options available.
Every year I buy my textbooks as soon as I know my schedule for school. Google cheap-college-student.com, they have great articles on where to buys cheap books.I have read so many ideas on there on how to save and make extra money too.
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How much do college books cost for each semester? Year?Thanks to both of you for your helpful posts.
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If you're taking gen ed classes your books can be anywhere from $30-90 each. English majors tend to buy a lot of literary novels and books, but the good news is novels cost a lot less than texts. So after gen ed you may be spending anywhere from $10 - 30 on each book. It depends on your University and teach too. Some teachers try to assign the cheaper of the books and some dont careHow much do college books cost for each semester? Year?
well it depends on if you are buying your books new or used. Its right around 400-500 a semester. Look on amazon and ebay.. i got a lot of my books half price compared to how much they are in the campus book store!
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